Unintentional Hoarder

Moving is never fun, despite the excitement of the new adventures and journeys that may be ahead. The whole wrapping, packing and stacking boxes and furniture just right so that the maximum space is utilized. Depending on the amount of things that a person owns, or how far the move is will depend on what size truck is needed. Why I am writing about this subject, because I have recently moved to what I pray is my final home.

I have moved several times in my 40 years of life, as a young woman, I moved five times, when in the military we moved four times and as a child, I believe I moved about four or five times; and each time was an adventure. Moving can bring about stress and anxiety, however, in the end when it is all over, the fun begins. Exploring the new neighborhoods, checking out the new shopping areas and so forth.

As I mentioned, I just moved to what I hope is my last earthly home. I have just become a homeowner and I do not plan on moving, God may have different plans that I do not know about but I do not plan on moving again. I just bought my childhood home and I absolutely love being back here. Along with my memories of this place I plan on making new memories as well.

As I was packing and preparing for my move I got to thinking about all the times that I moved and how each one was all different yet they were all the same as well. It is amazing how much unneeded stuff that accumulates through time. Why do we feel as if we have to keep everything? I found things hidden away that I haven’t seen or used in years, yet I still had them? Why? I do not have an answer for that, except that deep down everyone at some point feels that if they throw something away they will need it immediately. I guess it is just human instinct, whatever the reasons are, we all end to keep a lot of unnecessary junk. I decided that for this final move I would get rid of many things that have just set in boxes collecting dust, and taking up space. Okay, to be honest, I did not decide to purge things on my own I had help. The fact that I was downsizing to a smaller home was the deciding factor. Choosing what was staying and what was going was not all that easy.

Through the years there are many things that have been accumulated, having been in the military things seem to just been had; sometimes not even remembering why or where you got it. During the year that my husband was in Iraq the kids and I were sent a few things from the foreign land, these of course are on the keep list. However, there are things that I came across that I really do not have a clue to why I still have them. We have two storage units filled of “we might need this one day” stuff. Enough is enough, no more hoarding.

I have a lot of undoing when it comes to my family, I need to reteach them better habits and hopefully the unlearn what they have seen as a child and do not follow the behavior. I realized with this latest move that I have become an unintentional hoarder. This can be a huge problem and in a lot of cases it can be crippling. Hoarding is a psychological mental issue and it can be extremely difficult for some to literally throw things away. They become physically ill, or very agitated when confronted. Is hoarding biblical, unlawful in God’s eyes? According to Luke 12:15-21 it is; “And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ ...

The bible also states in Luke 12:34, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” When material things become more important than anything else it becomes a problem, and God has said many times that he is a jealous God and that there should be no other master than him,for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Mathew 6:24. I feel that the last word in this verse can be blank and other words can be substituted. There is nothing wrong with keeping sentimental things, family heirlooms and so forth, however there needs to be a line drawn on how much is too much.